Roulette is often the worst casino table game to play in terms of the house advantage. The lowest hold for a roulette bet is 1.35%. That is for even money bets on European tables in Las Vegas and French ones at online casinos due to the la partage rule, which gives half back on even money bets when the pill lands in the zero pocket. These games are single zero. The other single zero bets hold 2.7%.
Double zero roulette holds 5.26% on all but one bet, while triple zero has a house advantage of 7.69%, excluding that one bet, which is called the Basket. One notable exception to the double zero rule is that all Atlantic City casinos have la partage on these tables, but not on single zero games like Las Vegas does on European Roulette.
The basket bet covers five numbers: 0, 00, 1, 2, and 3. It pays 6/1. It is placed by putting chips on the line between 0 and 1 or 00 and 3 in the same way a Street would be wagered on all the other lines. The Basket bet pays 6/1 when it wins. That is one more than a Street pays, which includes six numbers instead of five.
Because five is not divisible by 36, it has an odd payout. This causes its house advantage to be 7.89% on double zero roulette and 10.26% when the wheel has three zeros, like some found in Las Vegas, Laughlin, Ohio, and Maryland. The Basket bet is a little worse than adding another zero to the wheel.
Expected loss differences between the Basket and other bets
As noted earlier, all roulette bets except the Basket have the same house edge on double zero and triple zero tables, with the exception of even-money bets in Atlantic City. Making the Basket bet as opposed to all others on the felt increases the house advantage by 50%. The list below shows how the losses play out per spin and hour. The hourly numbers assume 50 spins every 60 minutes.
Basket bet expected losses per bet every spin/hour
The first number is the bet. The second number is the expected loss per spin. The last is the expected hourly loss after 50 spins, an average hourly speed for roulette action. Numbers under $1 round to the nearest one-tenth of a cent.
Double zero
- $1 bet: $0.079/$3.95
- $2 bet: $0.1578/$7.89
- $5 bet: $0.395/$19.73
- $10 bet: $0.789/$39.45
Triple zero
- $1 bet: $0.103/$5.13
- $2 bet: $0.205/$10.26
- $5 bet: $0.513/$25.65
- $10 bet: $1.03/$51.30
Other bets
The numbers below assume normal roulette rules and payouts. The house edge used for double zero roulette is 5.26%. It is 7.69% for triple zero.
Double zero
- $1: $0.053/$2.63
- $2: $0.105/$5.26
- $5: $0.263/$13.15
- $10: $0.526/$26.30
Note that the player loses more than one bet per hour when making the Basket bet over the others.
Triple zero
- $1: $0.077/$3.85
- $2: $0.154/$7.69
- $5: $0.385/$19.23
- $10: $0.769/$38.45
Triple zero roulette players also lose more than one bet per hour on the Basket bet when compared to all other bets.
What to bet instead
There is an easy way to make the Basket bet without giving up the additional house edge. One way is to put one chip on the 1, 2, and 3 Street and one splitting the 0 and 00. Another is to bet all five numbers as a Straight. Another is to bet two chips on the 1, 2, and 3 Street while betting one splitting the zeros or betting each straight. If you must make the Basket bet, never do it with more than one chip as the ways described above get the same action with a lower house advantage.